jesse-846-720503

Treacly. It's not a word I've ever really used. But it seems appropriate.

I'm a gay man in his 60's. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I realized that there is a whole genre of gay holiday romance movies. This is the first one I've ever watched. And it was...ugh. Overly sweet and saccharine, set in a world that has never existed on planet earth. An unrealistically supportive family in a small town. It would be nice if this world existed, I suppose. But it doesn't.

And I know that few people want to think about the intimate lives of gay men, so I understand why they would sanitize something like this, but they went so far in the sanitizing that the guys came off as asexual eunuchs.

I barely know who Dan Levy is. I never saw Schitt's Creek. He seems like a talented enough guy. The film was pretty to look at and generally well acted. But I don't think, at least from this, that Levy himself has the acting chops to handle the dramatic scenes. There were a few moments where I was cringing.

And while the film was generally enjoyable, it's yet another gay storyline that focuses solely on beautiful, well-off gay people living glamorous lives. Beautiful homes in London and Paris, stunningly beautiful furniture. And most everyone wildly successful. It all just seems too pat. We've seen it all before.

A little preachy, yes. But how Gerwig and Baumbach managed to write a script that is part social satire, comedy, and deeply moving statement is kind of amazing.

The movie was kind of all over the place, but very entertaining. And America Ferrara read some great speeches. Robbie and Gosling were, of course, the only two people who could have possibly played these roles. They are Barbie and Ken.

Will Farrell's scenes sometimes seemed like they were from a different movie. Not sure if I really got his part.

Overall, thoroughly enjoyable, moving, and thought provoking. But I can see why the bro-types don't like it. It's probably very threatening to them.